Five in a row

SF 7  STL 3

Paul Goldschmidt continued his mastery of the Giants with four hits and two homers last night. He came up in the 9th with the bases loaded and one out and the Cardinals down by four but hit the first pitch he saw from Camilo Doval to Thairo Estrada who started a game-ending double play. Everything else went the Giants way, too. Anthony DeSclafani had another good start, giving up two runs (the Goldy homers) and fanning six over six innings. Tristan Beck and Tyler Rogers (who has allowed only one run in 12 appearances) took care of the 7th and 8th but Sean Hjelle had a terrible 9th and had to be bailed out by Doval despite entering the game with a 5-run lead.

Lefty Steven Matz held the Giants at bay until the 4th when LaMonte Wade, Jr. homered to start the inning. Blake Sabol got a hit, stole second, and scored on a hit by Austin Slater. Mitch Haniger singled off reliever Jordan Hicks in the 5th and scored the go-ahead run after an error and a wild pitch. Haniger walked in the 7th and scored on a homer from Wilmer Flores. In the 8th Michael Conforto drove in Thairo Estrada who led off the frame with a double, and Conforto scored on Wade's triple. It was a good showing by the lineup and they had enough cushion to survive the Cardinals last-gasp rally.

The 11-13 Giants are two games off the pace in the West (Arizona is on top at 14-12). They have improved their home record to 7-6 and have a chance this afternoon (12:45 PT) to complete a four-game sweep. Logan Webb gets the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Take that!

SF 5  STL 4

Rookie Blake Sabol blasted a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer in the 9th to shock the Cardinals and give the Giants a dramatic walk-off win. It was a nail-biting 2-1 game into the 8th when St. Louis finally broke through against the Giants wall of relievers, tacking a three-spot on Scott Alexander and Camilo Doval. That 4-2 lead looked insurmountable for the home team but an error (one of three by the Redbirds) by Tommy Edman at second base allowed leadoff man Joc Pederson to reach. A clutch double from Mike Yastrzemski (who homered earlier) plated him and the Giants had a pulse. Two quick outs followed and it didn't look good. Ryan Helsley is a very tough reliever who has 100+ mph heat and a wipeout slider. He left one just a bit out over the plate and the young Giants catcher showed off his power with a 428-foot bomb to center. That's four wins in a row!

John Brebbia opened (1-1/3), Sean Manaea followed (1-1/3, 1 R), then Jakob Junis (1.0), Taylor Rogers (1-1/3), Tyler Rogers (2.0), and finally Alexander (1/3, charged with all 3 R), Doval (1/3, gave up the RBI hit to Paul Goldschmidt), and Sean Hjelle (1.0) took the 9th.

The Giants blew a couple of games earlier in the month and I kept thinking "when is our turn?" for some come-from-behind excitement. This was one of those "payback" wins. It is good to see the team playing better baseball. Maybe Anthony DeSclafani can mow 'em down tonight for a series sweep (whoops, it's a four-game series!) for a fifth straight win. Wouldn't that be nice? First pitch at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. It's an unusual off-day on Friday as the team travels to Mexico City for a weekend set against the Padres. The Giants will be the visitors at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú Béisbol (3:05 Sat, 1:05 Sun PT).

Cobb!!

SF 4  STL 0

Alex Cobb blanked the Cardinals for his second career shutout (and fifth complete game) in his 207th start. Cobb struck out only four guys but he got—get this—seventeen ground ball outs. Seventeen. That's some serious pitching voodoo.

It was a no-score nail-biter until the 8th when the Giants finally broke through. With the bases loaded and one out FNG Mitch Haniger drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and J.D. Davis followed with a homer. It was a dramatic frame as Cobb was clearly dealing and the shutout was obviously in play. He got his chance in the 9th and really delivered. The ground ball scheme kept his pitch count down and he finished with a mere 109 total (to 33 batters).

That's three wins in a row, if you're counting. The Giants need some positive things to happen and a big pitching performance is that kind of thing!

The 9-13 Giants and 9-14 Cardinals are at it again tomorrow night (6:45 PT). It's righty Jake Woodford for St. Louis and TBD (it's Manaea's turn) for the home squad.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Yaz Comes Through

SF 5  NYM 4

It took a lot of work to set it up for Mike Yastrzemski to get the game-winning hit but the Giants managed and eked out a victory against the Mets to split the series. Yaz hit a double to right-center in the 8th that scored Joc Pederson from first base and broke a 4-4 tie. Brandon Nimmo cut the ball off in the gap and made a good throw to the relay man but Joc showed some nimble feet and scored easily. I don't think he hustled around the bags that briskly last season. Perhaps the threat of outfield play got him to trim down.

Ross Stripling started and lasted 3-1/3, yielding three runs. He threw 67 pitches to 17 batters and did not allow a homer. That's an improvement. With Alex Wood on the IL the Giants need Stripling to get into form. Taylor Rogers, looking better all the time, got the final two outs in the 4th. Tyler Rogers was overpowering in his two frames, fanning four, unfortunately also giving up a game-tying solo homer to rookie catcher Francisco Alvarez. It was a rising ball up in his eyes at 73 mph and he somehow lofted it out to left field. Rogers had a bewildered look on his face. He has pitched exceptionally well so far this season. John Brebbia had a dominant 7th, Scott Alexander had 1-2-3 8th, and Camilo Doval was overpowering for the save in the 9th.

The Giants scored in the 1st on Joc's two-out single. Thairo Estrada hit a booming homer leading off the 2nd to make it 2-0. After the Mets took the lead in the 4th the Giants got two in the bottom half to push ahead 4-3. Francisco Lindor failed to get a double play on Brett Wisely's grounder and that allowed Brandon Crawford to score. Alvarez' homer tied it in the 6th and Yaz' double gave the home squad the lead back and they held on for the win.

An excellent day for the fans in San Francisco. So far the team is 4-6 at home. The Cardinals come to town tomorrow for a four-game set. Friday is an off-day before a weekend series in San Diego.

Alex Cobb takes the hill at 6:45 p.m. Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.